The House voted to cancel $450 million for a second engine for the F-35, the costliest weapons program in U.S. history. The secone engine was to be built by General Electric and Rolls Royce as an alternative in case the primary engine built by Pratt & Whitney failed. Lockheed Martin via Air Force $1 Trillion: Lifetime Cost To Run F-35 Fighter Jets -- Economic Times/Reuters
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon estimates that it will still cost about $1 trillion to operate a fleet of 2,443 F-35 fighter jets over the next 50 years, but is continuing to analyze how to drive that staggering sum down, a top US Marine Corps official told Reuters.
Lieutenant General Terry Robling, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation, said top defense officials agreed last week to continue low-rate production of the new radar-evading warplane built by Lockheed Martin Corp, while keeping a close eye on the cost of maintaining and operating the new jets.
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Update: $1 trillion fIghter plane project likely to be more costly -- Springfield News Sun
My Comment: With cuts in purchasing the F-35 now being planned, I do not see how they can maintain this operating cost .... not even close.